Everything about Nepalese Constituent Assembly Election 2008 totally explained
An
election for a Constituent Assembly was held in
Nepal on
10 April 2008 after having been postponed from earlier dates of
20 June 2007 and
22 November 2007. This assembly will draft a new constitution. Hence, this will decide, amongst other things, on the fate of the
Nepalese monarchy and
federalism. The number of eligible voters was around 17.5 million. The Constituent Assembly will have a term of two years.
Background
The Election Constituency Delimitation Commission recommended the following number and distribution of seats: 335 members would be elected through a proportionate electoral system, 240 members through election in constituencies and 17 on recommendation by the Council of Ministers.
The first delay for holding the assembly occurred due to the lack of preparation on behalf of the Election Commission as well as the seven parties that were at the helm of the government. The second delay, on
5 October 2007, occurred because the Maoists demanded that a republic be declared before the election and that a fully proportional system be used in the election instead of a mixed system. A compromise was agreed to on
4 November: the election would use a fully proportional system, but the republic would only be declared immediately after the Constituent Assembly election.
On
November 4, most parties in the
interim parliament voted in favour of a Maoist proposal calling for a fully proportional election system. However, an absolute majority couldn't be achieved because the then largest party in the parliament, Nepali Congress, vehemently opposed the idea. Later, the problem was resolved when all of the parties agreed to an election where 60% of the elected seats would be allocated by the proportional system, and the remaining 40% by the direct system of election.
On
15 December, the government considered an amendment to the constitution. This amendment moved the deadline for Constituent Assembly elections from
15 December 2007 to
12 April 2008, and changed the membership of the Constituent Assembly: the seats for the proportional representation system were increased to 335 and the members nominated by the prime minister were increased to 26 from 17. As specified in the
Election to Members of the Constituent Assembly Act (2007), party list representation will be calculated using a result divisor method, the
Sainte-Laguë method.
The seats for first-past-the-post elections remained at 240, making the total number 601 seats instead of the earlier 497. The word "republic" was also included, but will have to be confirmed by the Constituent Assembly. The agreement was officially adopted on
December 23 2007 by the government and the Maoists stated they'd rejoin the government shortly. The interim parliament approved the deal on
December 28, with 270 in favor and three opposed.
The Election Commission gave the parties which wished to register for the polls a new deadline of
14 January 2008; parties which had previously registered didn't have to re-register. On
11 January, the Cabinet decided to hold the election on
10 April. Another monarchist alliance,
Samyukta Samabeshi Morcha, was also formed before the election.
An estimated 60% of the 17.6 million voters cast ballots, many of them lining up before dawn outside the 20,000 polling stations. The election of the 601-seat Constituent Assembly to write a new constitution was touted as the cornerstone of a 2006 peace deal struck with the Maoists-rebels, ending the
Nepalese Civil War in 2006 that forced Nepal's king
Gyanendra to cede power, which he'd seized in the year 2005. The election held great symbolic value for many in the impoverished Himalayan nation, where 60% of the 27 million people are under age 35 and many voted for the first time.
The Maoists left the interim government on
18 September 2007, citing the non-fulfillment of their demands (which included declaration of a republic before the elections). They stated they'd launch street protests in favour of a republic and to ensure the elections will be held, but would also keep to the ceasefire. The Prime Minister stated that declaring a republic through the interim parliament would lack legitimacy. According to some analysts, the Maoists were worried that they lack support and were trying to avoid suffering an embarrassing election defeat at the polls.
On
26 September 2007, the Nepali Congress abandoned its tacit support for a constitutional monarchy and called on the Constituent Assembly to call for the monarch's abdication. The nomination deadline was extended on
30 September 2007 upon the request of the
Seven Party Alliance.
The
United Nations Security Council on
26 October 2007 called for the election to be held before the end of 2007.
An agreement with the
United Democratic Madhesi Front was reached on
28 February 2008, thus ending their general strike. The agreement also included a provision increasing the proportion of seats reserved for the Madhesi minority from 20% to 30%. Furthermore, the parties were allowed to file for the election with an additional deadline set; the constituent parties of the
United Madhesi Democratic Front (
Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum,
Tarai-Madhesh Loktantrik Party,
Sadbhavana Party) did so, as well as some others (including the
Anandisingh Devi-led NSP(A),
Nepal Samyabadi Party,
Rastriya Janashakti Party – who had stated they'd boycott the election unless the Madhesi issue was resolved –,
Nawa Janabadi Morcha,
Nepal Rastriya Janabhavana Party,
Rastriya Bikas Party and
Rastrabadi Yuba Morcha).
Election
Shortly before the election,
Rishi Prasad Sharma, a CPN-UML candidate in Jahare Bazar town in Surket district, was killed, and the election there was delayed; another person was shot and killed by police during protests regarding Sharma's death. A Congress party rally on
April 7 was attacked with a bomb; a bomb also went off near the UN mission in Kathmandu. On
April 8, police killed six Maoists who were engaged in clashes with Congress supporters in Dang district. Prachanda met with Koirala and emphasized the need to "show restraint and have a fair and free election". Gyanendra called "upon all adult citizens to exercise their democratic right in a free and fair environment".
About 135,000 police troops were deployed to provide security for the election, Travel and the sale of alcohol were banned while the election was held.
Although voting was called off at 33 polling stations, the overall national voter turnout stood approximately at 60%. In many places, there was applause at the beginning and ending of voting.
Results from later on the same date showed that CPN (M) has won five of the seven declared seats, and was leading in 56 of the other 102 currently being counted; it was noted that the CPN (M) were more successful than analysts expected, as they were believed to be likely to come only in third place.
Polls were ordered to be repeated in at least 60 polling stations across 16 constituencies and 10 districts, though that number is likely to increase. The numbers were announced to have increased to 98 polling stations, 21 constituencies, 12 districts on
14 April 2008.
With the CPN (M) appearing to have won the election, Prachanda pledged that the party would work together with other parties in crafting the new constitution, and he assured the international community, particularly India and China, that the party wanted good relations and cooperation. He also said that the party had expressed its commitment to multi-party democracy through the election and that it would be faithful to its mandate from the people "to consolidate lasting peace".
Gyanendra expressed satisfaction at "the enthusiastic participation of the Nepalese people" in the election.
Results from
17 April 2008 showed CPN (M) winning 116 seats, CPN (UML) 31 seats and the Nepali Congress 32 seats of the 218 seats declared so far.
As of
17 April, 26 women have secured seats in the new assembly, 22 from the CPN (M), one from the Nepali Congress, two from the
Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum, Nepal and one from
Tarai-Madhesh Loktantrik Party.
Pro-monarchy politician
Rudra Bahadur from the
Rastriya Prajatantra Party, who failed to be elected in his constituency, was found murdered on
18 April 2008 in his home. Around the same time, Prachanda stated that he'd "take the initiative to talk to the king in person" in hopes of convincing him to abdicate; he said that, after leaving the throne, Gyanendra could still live in Nepal and remain involved in business.
The CPN (M) won a plurality of seats in the election: 220 out of 575 (the remaining 26 members are to be chosen by the government formed after the election), with 120 seats through first-past-the-post constituencies and 100 through proportional representation. The party has said that, because it won more seats than any other party, it's entitled to lead the government.
Communist Party of Nepal (United) list MP
Sunil Babu Pant is the first openly gay MP elected in Nepal.
The official and final list of members elected under the PR system was released on
8 May 2008; this means the first meeting of the CA (which has to be held within 21 days of the publication of the final result) will be held before the end of May 2008. On
12 May 2008, it was announced that the first session of the CA would be held on
28 May 2008. The members of the CA will be sworn in on
27 May 2008.
Parties
The following parties presented candidates ahead of the election.
Notably, the
Nepali Congress and
Nepali Congress (Democratic) merged prior to the elections on
25 September 2007.
The
Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist Centre), which had registered itself ahead of the elections and which held 1 MP, has merged into the
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).
On the day before the filing deadline, the
Rastriya Janashakti Party announced it would boycott the election, citing the fact that the government "ignored the worsening situation in the Terai plans". The
Green Nepal Party had earlier also announced a boycott, demanding that a neutral caretaker government supervise the polls.
Of the 74 registered political parties, 38 submitted closed candidate lists for the proportional representation by the deadline of
20 February 2008. The deadline for filing for the FPTP seats is
25 February 2008.
Results
Further Information
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